Beers, Lies and Alibis (Warblers Point Series Book 2) (33 page)

“Is that all she did?” Finn asked. “Because it seems like there’s something else that’s bothering you.” Finn tried to hold Blaire, but she backed away.
 

“Uh, I’m going to go drive around and see if I can find Neala,” Bradon said as he grabbed his keys and left as quickly as possible, giving Blaire and Finn some alone time.
 

Once Bradon was gone, Blaire took off toward the bar and grabbed a beer. She popped it open on the counter top, which Finn was a little turned on by, and started taking a long swig.
 

“Blaire, please talk to me.”

She set her beer down, linked her arms together and said, “Are you fucking her right now? Are you just appeasing me and waiting for me to leave until you can get back in her bed?”

Finn had to step back at her accusation. Where the hell did she hear that from? Apparently going to the General Store was a bad idea; they should have just settled for fish and chips.
 

“What are you talking about? Blaire, who told you that?”

“I heard it from Sophie while she was talking on the phone at the store. She said you two have been together and that you were trying to ditch me tonight so you could meet up with her.”

The strain in Blaire’s voice cut right through Finn’s heart. He had no clue why Sophie was trying to destroy his family’s lives, but he was seeing red at the moment and he was going to be out for murder in two seconds.
 

Finn took Blaire’s hands in his. “Blaire, think about it for a second. Why would I be writing you letters every day of my life and begging for your forgiveness while fucking some girl that means nothing to me on the side? I would never do that. I am so far in love with you, it’s ridiculous. You have to know that by now.”

Blaire nodded her head. “I know, it’s just…what she said cut through me. She sounded so real when she was talking on the phone, as if she knew something I didn’t. You know I can’t handle much Finn, I can’t handle lies and disappointment when it comes to us. I just can’t.”

Finn took Blaire’s face in his hands and looked her deep in the eyes. “I promise you Blaire, you are the only girl I want, the only girl I have thought about since I met you and the only girl I want to share my bed with. Sophie is nothing but a lying pathetic person who has nothing else better to do than spread lies, for some unknown reason.” Finn kissed Blaire lightly on the lips. “I swear on my family that you are the love of my life and I plan on spending the rest of my time on this earth making sure you know that. You hear me?”

A tear fell down Blaire’s cheek as she nodded. Finn leaned in and kissed away each drop that fell from her eyes, trying to show her how much he loved her, how much he cared for her, and how much she ruled his world.
 

“Please don’t listen to a thing she has to say. She clearly has some kind of vendetta against us since she told lies about both me and Liam.” Finn thought about it for a second and then said, “And I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t have a hand in breaking up Fiona and Booker. Something is up and we are going to find out about it.”

Blaire caressed Finn’s cheek. “You love me?”

“More than anything, baby. You are my world. You have to know that by now. I would do anything for you.”

Burying her head into his chest, she wrapped her arms around his waist and held onto him tight.
 

“I don’t want to lose you again, Finn. I couldn’t handle it. I am nowhere near strong enough to handle that kind of pain.”

“You don’t have to worry about it, babe, because I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me.”

Blaire smiled up at him. “Could be worse, I guess.”

Finn poked her side. “Ya’re goin’ to pay for that, lassie,” Finn said in his best Irish voice.
 

Blaire rolled her eyes and pulled Finn toward the door that led to the apartments upstairs, as she wiggled her eyebrows at him.
 

Even though he knew he should probably be helping Liam find Neala and fix whatever happened between the two of them, Finn couldn’t help himself; he felt the need to show his girl how much he loved her and how he was going to spend the rest of his life worshipping her.
 

***

Liam’s heart was beating out of his chest as he flew into the driveway of Neala’s parents’ house, praying to God that Neala was there and not somewhere else in Warblers Point all alone, especially since she was still trying to regulate her medication. This was the last thing she needed.
 

Almost gagging himself on his seatbelt, Liam unbuckled himself, threw his door open and ran into the house.
 

“Neala?” Liam shouted, as he searched the house.
 

Catherine was out with Neala’s parents, so he knew they weren’t home; he just prayed that Neala was.
 

He ran into her room, but didn’t see her anywhere. Fear crept through his body as he tried to think where Neala might be. She could pretty much be anywhere; she was a bit of a loose cannon and the thought that Liam might not get to her before she did something crazy was driving him insane.
 

All of a sudden, a crash came from the bathroom, which sent Liam flying to the little room to see if Neala was in there. When he walked in, he never expected to see what he saw.
 

Lying on the ground, with a pool of blood surrounding her, was Neala with her wrists completely cut open. In one of her hands was a blade that had been plucked from one of her razors.
 

“Jesus!” Liam screamed, as he grabbed a towel from the towel holder and started to apply pressure to Neala’s wrists, while she looked at him with glassed-over eyes.
 

Pulling out his phone, Liam dialed nine-one-one as he held on tight to Neala’s wrists. He quickly spat off all the information the emergency responders needed and hung up so he could focus on his wife.
 

“Hold on, love. Help is on the way.”

Neala’s head rolled to the side as she made eye contact with him. “What are you doing here?” Her voice was but a whisper as she spoke to him.
 

Nausea rolled through Liam’s stomach as he tried to gain control of his emotions.
 

“Save your breath, love. It’s going to be okay.”

“You don’t care about me.” Neala tried to pull away, but Liam held her in place so he could continue to elevate Neala’s wrists and apply pressure. His clothes started to soak in all the blood that was on the floor, but he didn’t care. All he cared about was saving his wife.
 

“Neala, that’s not true. Whatever you heard about me is a lie. You have to believe that.”

Liam knew it was pointless trying to talk to her and convince her that he did nothing wrong, since she had lost so much blood she probably wasn’t retaining anything, but he had to try. He had to tell her how much she meant to him.
 

“I love you so much, Neala. You have to know that. You have to know I would do anything for you.”

“You love Sophie, always have,” Neala said softly.
 

Not wanting to argue, Liam just kept reassuring her how much he loved her as they sat on the bathroom floor, waiting for the paramedics to arrive.
 

As if Liam was living outside his body, he watched the paramedics rush through the bathroom, remove Neala and start hooking her up to IV’s and spouting off words Liam had no clue what they meant. He watched as they wheeled his wife out of the house and escorted him to the back of the truck.
 

While they were in the ambulance, Liam watched as his wife went unconscious from the lack of blood that was no longer running through her body. Her heart rate slowed to an alarming rate that made the paramedics jump around the ambulance, trying to desperately save her life. It was as if someone literally removed him from his body as he watched his wife slowly slip away from him.
 

They pulled up to the hospital as the back doors to the ambulance were torn open by hospital staff waiting for their arrival. They quickly ushered Neala out of the truck and into the hospital. Liam’s body followed closely behind, but he didn’t ever remember actually moving his feet.
 

Right when they wheeled Neala into a room, her heart flat-lined, sending the most painful sound Liam had ever heard through his ears. Her lifeless arms draped over the edge of the gurney, showing how much she had given up on her life, how much she had given up on them.
 

In slow motion, Liam watched as the doctors called out orders and hooked Neala up to a fresh bag of blood to refill her body from what she lost. The doctor who was hovering over her shouted “clear” as he placed two defibrillator pads on her chest and lifted her body off the gurney with one press of the button.
 

“Sir, you have to come this way,” said a nurse, as Liam tried to catch a glimpse of what was happening with his wife. He didn’t move, how could he? He felt completely paralyzed.
 

“Sir.”

“No!” shouted Liam, as he tried to shake the nurse off of him.
 

“Liam.” The Irish voice of his mom came from behind him. He turned around to see her with open arms for him.
 

Some kind of parallel universe propelled him into his mother’s arms as he heard the flat line of Neala’s heart stop beating. He held onto his mom tightly as she whispered a silent prayer into his ear. A prayer for their family, a prayer for Liam and his strength and a prayer for Neala to pull through.
 

***

There was only one place where Fiona knew she could really clear her mind and that was the same place she spent many hours as a young girl fishing, running away from her brothers, and just enjoying the peacefulness of the lake that surrounded The Sleeping Potato.
 

She drove to her little alcove where there was an old rickety picnic table that Booker and she had made out on the first time they went out together. Pushing back the memories of that cold night sitting on the picnic table, drinking cider and eating cider donuts, she got out of her car and started towards the water’s edge.
 

The snow had melted from the few warmer days they’d had, so the ground was a lovely texture of mud and slush, not conducive for her sneakers that were now coated completely in brown, rather than the neon pink and black they once were.
 

As she approached the water, Fiona noticed out of the corner of her eye a bench that was never there before. It wasn’t the nicest bench she had ever seen; it was a little a rickety-looking in a Willy Wonka kind of way, but it had a nice varnish on it and when Fiona went to sit on it, it was quite sturdy.
 

She ran her hand along the back of the bench and felt markings on the wood. Mad that someone would already vandalize the new bench, Fiona looked over to take a look at who the stupid kid was that had too much time on their hands. She pulled her phone out, since it was dark, and she pointed the light on her phone at the mark.
 

A sharp pain ran through her heart as she stared at the carving. It was a B then a heart followed by an F. That was when she remembered that her mom told her Booker had built a bench and put it somewhere on the property. This bench was for her. Booker knew this was where she went to think and even when he left her, he still thought of her and built her a strong seat for her to sit on when she needed to be deep in thought.
 

How ironic that she came to the lake to think about her future with Booker and she was sitting on the bench he made specifically for that. He must have known.
 

Fiona shook her head as tears ran down her face. Her brothers were beyond right, even though she hated to admit it. They were so right when it came to Booker, she never gave him the reassurance he needed as a man, that he was needed and wanted. The reason she lost Booker wasn’t because of Keara or Murphy or California, it was Fiona’s lack of showing Booker how much he meant to her, how much she was lost without him. She was the only one to blame.
 

A broken twig echoed through the cool night air, startling Fiona almost to the point of screaming bloody murder. A dark figure appeared next to her and she tried to move her feet, but she was completely frozen; there was no moving where she was concerned.
 

“Fiona, it’s just me,” came Booker’s voice, as he moved into the moonlight holding two potted plants.
 

Fiona’s hand was on her chest as she tried to steady her rapid heartbeat. “You scared the crap out of me,” Fiona confessed.
 

“Sorry. I just wanted to drop these off. They’re not much now, but when they grow, they’ll be awesome pine trees. I already talked to Liam about taking care of them after the ground is no longer frozen.”

Booker set both pots with what looked like little Charlie Brown Christmas Trees in them on the ground, brushed off his jacket and then looked up at Fiona.
 

“Heard about your dad. I’m very happy for your family.” Fiona only nodded her head because her ability to talk was completely lost from how choked up she was. “Well, I guess I’ll be heading out.”